Neo Evangelion
by Phantom 1
Summary: If a prophecy is forcibly achieved, can it be considered a prophecy? Can one deny the future and start over? The Eva Children and their allies set out to answer these questions and more as they fight Seele in brand new machines.
1. Resurrection

Anime Revival Series

Neo Evangelion

Written by Stephen Frey

Intro

A gust of wind blew across the desert landscape that the populace once called Japan. Up ahead was what looked like the remains of a gigantic battle. Pieces of metal laid everywhere like a child's playroom unkempt. A destroyed city lay in the background.

In an underground bunker. Rubble was everywhere, the tell tale signs of a fierce battle. But something was vastly different about this battle scene. There were a few skeletons laying around but not as many as there should've been, had this been a normal battlefield. In what is unarguably the control room, a skeleton slumped on the control panel. This skeleton wore a jumpsuit. The name on the tag on the left breast pocket read 'Ibuki.'

In a hallway. Another skeleton was slumped against the wall. It wore a purple shirt and red jacket. A gun laid to the side.

Outside, a giant tree could be seen. It was silvery-white.

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Episode 1: Resurrection

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To human eyes, it would be incomprehensible. But the closest interpretation would be three giant orbs connected in a triangle formation. These orbs pulsated with energy that moved in random patterns.

The Christian Religion probably would've acknowledged it as the Holy Trinity. The top orb represented the father (God,  
the bottom left was the son (Jesus) and the third one was the Holy Spirit

Standing before the orbs was a figure. It was tall and lanky with a female outline and piercing red eyes. There was no audible conversation between the two. The orbs would glow and the figure would answer by blinking her eyes. This process repeated itself over a dozen times. But the worry both showed was evident.

It wasn't supposed to have gone through like this. Evolution forcibly achieved. And only those who were chosen by man while those who would've been deemed worthy faded away into nothingness. Only God is suppose to decide who should ascend,  
not those who were deemed unworthy. The orbs and the figure agreed that this was wrong and something must be done about it.

Energy began emitting from the top orb. It shot over the figure and seemed to disappear into the horizon.

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The energy beam emitted by the orbs exited the tree and struck the ground. There was a flash of light and two figures stood. They were both in their early teens, clad in different color jumpsuits. One was a boy with short brown hair and brown eyes. The other was a girl with crimson hair and green eyes.

The boy was Shinji Ikari and the girl was Asuka Langley Sohryu.

"What happened?" Asuka asked.

"I'm not sure," Shinji replied. "Last thing I remember was Seele attacking Nerv."

"Shinji, look." Asuka held out a chunk of red metal.

"Asuka, is that...?

"Yes, it is. Evangelion Unit 02." Asuka dropped to both knees. "Oh poor baby, please forgive me for what I done."

"But if that's Unit 02, then that means..."

"Nerv lost," Asuka finished.

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All three orbs started to emitt power.

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The skeleton wearing the purple shirt and red jacket was replace with a woman with violet hair who was wearing the same clothes as the skeleton. Misato Katsuragi opened her eyes and groaned.

"Whoa, that's the last time I drink lite beer. Hey Shinji, where's the..." Misato saw the hallway and the memories returned to her. "Oh my God! Shinji! SHINJI!" She runs off calling Shinji's name.

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More resurrections were taking place. In the control room, the same process that returned Misato happened with that skeleton, returning body and soul to Maya Ibuki who looked around and realized that she was the only one there.

"What happened to me? Wait a second, where did everybody go?"

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Outside, Shinji and Asuka saw the giant tree.

"What the hell is that?" Asuka asked.

"Just like prophesied," Shinji muttered. "Seele did it! They started the Third Impact!"

"The Third Impact? What have you been smoking, Shinji?"

"Asuka, look around you."

Asuka looked around at the turmoil. "So?"

Shinji was about to retort when there was a flash of light and a crash. Both Shinji and Asuka turned. They heard a moan coming from a pile of rubble. They ran over and dug through the rubble. Out emerges a woman with beach-blond hair and brown eyes. Dr. Ritsuko Akagi.

"Dr. Akagi!" Shinji called.

"Shinji, Asuka, you're all right, thank goodness."

"Ritsuko, what happened here?" Asuka asked.

"The Dead Seas Scrolls. Everything written in them came true. The Angels, the Third Impact, everything."

"Geez, have you and Shinji both been on drugs? The two of you are making no sense. There wasn't a Third Impact;  
Seele tried to shut us down when they decided that we were no use anymore, remember?"

"You're wrong." Ritsuko points to the tree. "The Tree of Sephiroth. It was foretold in the scrolls that the tree will rise and mark the signal that the Third Evolution of Man has arrived."

Now it was Shinji who was asking the question. "Ritsuko, how do you know all this?"

Ritsuko held out her hands, which held the Dead Sea Scrolls. Before Seele attacked, I stole them from Commander Ikari's office."

Shinji and Asuka look from each other to Ritsuko. Asuka started to speak, "Ritsuko, I..."

Whatever Asuka was going to say was interrupted as Misato appeared on the scene. "Shinji!"

"Misato!" Shinji called back. The two ran to each other and embraced. "Misato, I was..."

"I know, Shinji," Misato interrupted, stroking his hair. "So was I."

"Misato?" Misato and Asuka embrace too. Misato then turned to Ritsuko. The two stared at each other with neutral faces.

"How are you doing?" She asked conversationally.

Ritsuko manages a weak smile. "Like someone dropped Sachiel on my head."

Misato smiled back. "That good, huh?"

"I wonder if anyone else was brought back to life," Shinji wondered.

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Maya is picking through rubble that is blocking the exit when she hears a crackle of energy then a pair of footsteps.

"Maya."

It was Gendo Ikari and Kouzo Fuyutski.

"Commander Ikari, Commander Fuyutski, you're all right!" Maya said actually glad to see her bosses.

"Thankfully, we are," Fuyutski said apparently speaking for the two of them. "Have you seen anyone else?"

"No. I've been trying to dig myself out of here for the past hour."

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Energy was streaming from all sides of the Tree of Sephiroth. The energy begins to reconstruct the buildings and reanimate the people. Skeletons receive substance and those who disappeared bodies and all reappeared.

The rubble disappears from the control room doors and they opened. Maya, Fuyutski, and Ikari hurried out.

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"Now what's happening?" Shinji wondered.

"Someone upstairs must like us," Ritsuko cracked. "The city is being reconstructed."

"Wahoo!" Asuka cried. "That means that everybody who was killed in the battle will be alive again.

Misato frowns as she realizes, "So will the soldiers of Seele."

Soldiers wearing Seele uniforms also got reanimated/reapeared.

"Relax," Ritsuko assured them. "They'll be too confused to continue on their mission."

A blast grazed Misato's hair. "Hey!" Misato turns to fire her gun but nothing comes out. "Shit, I forgot, it's empty!

"What do we do now?" Shinji questioned.

"I'm for running," Asuka volunteered.

Misato decided to agree with her. "Good idea." All four take off.

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Maya, Gendo, and Fuyutski were running through the corridors of Nerv when they run into Shinji, Misato, Asuka, and Ritsuko.

"Major, Doctor, you're all okay," Maya said stating the obvious.

"So are you three apparently," Misato returned.

A shot hits the wall besides Shinji.

"Not for long if we don't get moving," Maya replied.

The whole group takes off as Seele soldiers start firing at them. They turn corners and head down straight-aways not really realizing where they were heading. Through the whole ordeal, Shinji tries to avoid looking at his father. Call it a hunch,  
but he had a feeling that Gendo was behind it all.

The whole group ran into a dead end.

"Dead end!" Shinji cried.

"I wish you wouldn't say that," Asuka said.

Seele soldiers start walking towards them, guns pointed, fingers on the trigger.

The wall suddenly breaks away and everybody falls into an empty shaft behind it. You can hear Shinji, Asuka, Misato, and Maya scream the whole way down.

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The resurrection was taking place for evil as well as good. Five figures appeared in an empty room. These are the members of Seele.

"What's going on here?" One asked. "Why hasn't the Third Impact initiated?"

Another director went to the window. "I think it has. Look."

Everybody goes to the window. They can see the tree restoring Tokyo 3 and the Geo Front to normal.

"Ikari. Only he can perform this trick while keeping it a secret from us."

"Damn it! I thought we took care of Nerv. What has happened?"

"Chairman Kiel, what do we do?" The first members asked.

"Gentlemen, calm yourselves," Kiel said in an calm manner. "I have prepared for this predicament. We will initiate Operation Overturn."

"Are you sure? It might blow up in our faces."

"In case you have forgotten, the threat of the Angels is over," Kiel pointed out. "The Evangelions are no more so it won't be long before the Japanese Government decides that Nerv is useless and shuts them down. In the mean time, we should start "helping" the citizens of Tokyo 3 rebuild their lives from the trouble the Evangelions caused. Nerv will fall in all good time."

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After falling for what felt like a thousand yards, Shinji, Asuka, Misato, Ritsuko, Gendo, Fuyutski, and Maya finally hit the ground.

"Is everybody all right?" Misato called out.

"Yeah, only my whole body is bruised," Asuka responded.

"Now where are we?" Ritsuko wondered.

"This is known as The Pocket," Fuyutski said which even caught the normally stoic Gendo off guard. "It served as a storage facility for the E2 Project."

"The E2 Project?" Everybody except Fuyutski and Gendo asked.

"Certain Nerv scientists always feared that the Evangelions would fail in our battle against the Angels. The Pocket was supposed to house the backup to the Evas. An elevator was supposed to bridge Central Dogma with The Pocket.  
The elevator was never installed before the Angels started attacking."

Fuyutski pushed to the head of the group and groped the wall for a light switch. A hall of lights flicked on revealing a big metal door with the Nerv symbol. The group proceeded across the hall to the door.

"Insert voice-recognition password," a computerized voice instructed.

"Voice authorization: Fuyutski, Kouzo. Password: Heaven's wraith."

The door clicked open and parted with an irritating hum. Gendo lead the group inside.

The control room was supposed to house over fifteen workers and twenty technicians. All the control stations were focused around a central platform with a periscope. A window looked out into a huge cargo bay.

Shinji, Asuka, Misato, Ritsuko, and Maya looked out the window. Down in the cargo bay were several large machines shaped like cars, tanks, and other assorted vehicles.

Asuka turned to face Fuyutski. "They're machines!"

"Yes they are," Fuyutski confirmed.

Shinji leaned on a control panel and accidentally touches a button. A nearby view screen flickers to life. A picture of a woman who looked like Rei but her hair, skin, and eyes was a darker shade. It was Yui Ikari, Shinji's mother.

"Mother!"

"My name is Doctor Yui Ikari. This message contains basic outline for the E2 Project, which I personally have dubbed:  
Operation Shinji, after my first born son. This is an extension project of Operation E which my husband, Gendo, has initiated. I have feared that the Evangelions being built by Doctor Akagi may not be enough to battle the Angels, if what I have read in the Dead Sea Scrolls is accurate. So I have coordinated with Professor Kuzo Fuyutski of Tokyo University on beginning construction on a backup weapon to confront the terrifying AT fields of the Angels. They are formerly titled Fully Artificial Vehicular-Humanoid Conversion Assault Force. Or its alias, MechEVAs. I've chosen to make the MechEVAs completely inorganic to make them stronger and powerful. What they lack in speed, they make up for in strength and firepower."

Yui's face is minimized to the bottom right-hand corner of the screen while a three-dimensional image of a tank appears.  
A sequence begins showing how the tank converts into a robotic-like form.

Yui continued, "One of the features that make them different from the Evas designed by Doctor Akagi is that they have a transformation procedure. Each section of the body shifts from one location to another allowing it to become humanoid looking. Once the pilot's brain wave patterns are synchronized with the MechEVA, the transformation process begins."

The image shifts to a x-ray of the tank MechEVA. Two spots are highlighted in red.

"Each MechEVA contains two separate cockpits. One when in vehicular mode and the other in humanoid mode. These cockpits work independently. During the conversion process, the pilot is transferred from one cockpit to another."

Yui's image maximizes the whole screen.

"I had to keep this a secret from my husband because of his connections with the Seele organization. For a long time, I had a feeling that the intentions of Seele were self-inspired. I knew that Seele does not care about evolving humanity,  
only themselves and establishing themselves as the governing power of Earth. If he knew of the E2 project, and the Seele organization learned through him, then they will understand that it would be a hazard to the Human Implementation Project and destroy it. I ask that whoever receives this message in the future realize that Seele is a group of corrupted individuals who answer only to themselves. They will stop at nothing to destroy the E2 project and establish themselves as the solitary power governing Earth. Please, stop them, at any cost. This is Doctor Yui Ikari signing off."

The recording clicks off as data on each of the MechEVAs come on the screen.

Gendo turned to Fuyutski. "Where did you receive the materials to construct the MechEVAs?"

"After the Second Impact, most of the world's cities were destroyed. The materials were scavenged from those cities including the first two Tokyo cities."

"And the funding?"

Fuyutski sighed. "There was none. Everybody agreed to volunteer his or her time. The reason was beneficial. Everybody felt that Project E was a bad idea."

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The new Tokyo 3 didn't look like the bright, beautiful city it used to be; rather it looks worn-out and distorted. The buildings, despite being reconstructed, have cracks throughout their entire structure. Streets have so many crater that it looks like the moon. There are no lights on, except for firelight that people start due to the loss of electricity.

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At Seele Headquarters, Chairman Kiel is watching Yui Ikari's recording.

"Please stop them at any cost. This is Doctor Yui Ikari signing off."

Chairman Kiel turns off his monitor and looked at the person who brought him the recording.

"I'm surprised you were willing to betray your friends like this." The figure begins to say something but Chairman Kiel holds up his hand. "I know, I know, I heard you the first time. 'They aren't my friends.' You have to realize that I want you to prove your loyalty to Seele before I tell the government to pardon you. You must kill Shinji Ikari!" The figure nodded and leaves. "Well that was surprisingly simple."

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Shinji looked out from the control center at the red spaceship. It was hard to believe that the only people who knew about this were his mother and Mr. Fuyutski. Not even his father, who seemed to know everything, was aware of this bunker.

"Shinji?"

"Yes, Asuka?

The sound of a gun hammer being cocked is heard as Shinji turns around. Asuka is holding a gun and has malice on her face.

"Asuka, what's going on?"

Gendo entered behind Asuka, sees what's going on, and quickly departs.

Asuka's next word sent chills down Shinji's spine. "Die."

A gunshot echoed throughout the control room.

To Be Continued

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Cut to the red spaceship seen earlier. Shinji is leaning by it.

"Hi, I'm Shinji Ikari. Some of you readers might be complaining that some of the events depicted in Neo Evangelion don't correspond to the events that happened in the last two episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion or the movies End of Evangelion and Evangelion Death and Rebirth. The writer has told me to tell you that he is trying his best to make the events in this series a perfect sequel to the Evangelion series. So some of the activities might seem a little unusual but it's all part of trying to make this series in sync with the Neon Genesis Evangelion series. Thank you, and enjoy the rest of the Neo Evangelion series."


	2. Retribution

Shinji: Last time, on Neo Evangelion: 

The energy beam emitted by the orbs exited the tree and struck the ground. There was a flash of light and two figures stood. They were both in their early teens, clad in different color jumpsuits.One was a boy with short brown hair and brown eyes. The other was a girl with crimson hair and green eyes.

The boy was Shinji Ikari and the girl was Asuka Langley Sohryu.

Shinji and Asuka turned and saw the giant tree.

"What the hell is that?" Asuka asked.

Ritsuko points to the tree. "The Tree of Sephiroth. It was foretold in the scrolls that the tree would rise and mark the signal that the Third Evolution of man has arrived..

"In case you have forgotten, the threat of the Angels is over. The Evangelions are no more so it won't be long before the Japanese Government decides that NERV is useless and shuts them down. In the mean time, we should start "helping" the citizens of Tokyo 3 rebuild their lives from the trouble the Evangelions caused. NERV will fall in all good time."

"Certain NERV scientists always feared that the Evangelions would fail in our battle against the Angels. The Pocket was supposed to house the backup to the Evas.

Shinji, Asuka, Misato, Ritsuko, and Maya looked out the window. Down in the cargo bay were several large machines shaped like cars, tanks, and other assorted vehicles.

"They're machines!"

"My name is Doctor Yui Ikari. This message contains basic outline for the E2 Project. This is an extension project of Operation E which my husband, Gendo, has initiated. They are formerly titled Fully Artificial Vehicular-Humanoid Conversion Assault Force. Or its alias, MechEVAs. One of the features that make them different from the Evas designed by Doctor Akagi is that they have a conversion process. For a long time, I had a feeling that the intentions of Seele were self-inspired.  
I knew that Seele does not care about evolving humanity, onlythemselves and establishing themselves as the governing power of Earth..."

"I'm surprised you were willing to betray your friends like this. You must kill Shinji Ikari.

"Die!"

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Anime Revival Series

Neo Evangelion

Written by Stephen Frey

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Title:Episode 2: Retribution

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For a long moment, everything is frozen in time after the gunshot. Suddenly, Asuka drops the gun and falls onto her front.  
Gendo is shown behind her holding a smoking pistol.

"Father?"

Gendo pocketed the pistol. "Tell Doctor Akagi to bring a stretcher for Asuka," he instructed. "Explain that she was trying to shoot you and shot herself instead."

Shinji didn't understand why his father wanted his roll in this to be a secret but didn't question his orders.

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While Asuka lay on a bed, a mask over her mouth and an I.V. dripping fluids into her blood stream, Ritsuko is talking to Shinji, Misato, and Gendo.

"We're lucky the shot only penetrated her digestive tract," Ritsuko was saying. "Any higher and it would have been fatal. The Commander is a good shot."

"Will she survive?" Misato asked.

"Considering the fact that she almost literally ate a bullet? Yeah, she'll survive."

"What I want to know is why did Asuka try to kill me? What did I ever do to her?"

"She didn't seem like this while we were fighting the Angels. A little trigger happy but not enough to murder someone in cold blood."

Gendo turned to Ritsuko. "Were there any signs of narcotics or other foreign substances?"

"No, her body was clean."

"What about mind control or brain washing?" Misato offered.

"The instruments picked up no alteration in her brain waves. For all we know, she really wanted to kill Shinji."

"But why?"

Ritsuko shrugged and left.

Gendo addressed Misato, "Major, as soon as her condition stabilizes, I want you to take her up to the Geo Front and dump her there."

"But Commander, we need pilots for the MechEVAs. With Rei gone..."

"I will not allow her to damage the E2 project. She will receive substantial food, water, and money until she can establish her own income. Shelter, clothes, and other resources will be her responsibility." And without any more argument,  
Gendo leaves.

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Chairman Kiel and the members of Seele sat in a meeting room. Chairman Kiel's back was turned to the others.

"Has our operative succeeded in killing Shinji Ikari?" Kiel asked the others.

"No, not yet."

"I didn't expect the task to be completed that easy anyway. How are productions of our new MechEVAs turning out?"

"Finding the necessary resources was tough. We had to resort to using parts from the MP EVAs and Unit 02."

"So now our MechEVAs are Cyber-EVAs, hmmm? Interesting. Very well, continue."

"We've received word that the Second Child, Asuka Sohryu has been put in the hospital. We've also received word that she'll be discharged from Nerv."

"Hmm... Interesting turn of events. Thank you, gentlemen, that is all."

As soon as the Directors left, Vice-Chairman Mendoza appears behind Kiel.

"Thinking of gathering yourself an ally?" Mendoza asked.

"Asuka Langley Sohryu is an excellent EVA pilot. And after NERV denounces her, with her personality, she would probably want revenge. Being the nice people we are, we should oblige her."

Mendoza smiles evil-like.

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Asuka had been comatose for the past two days. Shinji sat by her side, staring.

"Why, Asuka? What did I ever do to you? Whatever I did, I'm sorry."

Maya entered carrying a laptop. "No change, huh?"

"None," Shinji confirmed.

"Don't worry, she'll come around."

"That's what I'm worried about."

"Shinji, there's something I want you to look at."

"What's that?"

Maya opens her laptop, and types some commands. She inserts a micro disk into the CD-ROM drive. "I discovered this while going through the database in the control center. It was addressed to you personally."

"Me?"

Maya hits the enter button. Yui Ikari's face comes on the screen.

"Shinji, if you are listening to this recording, it must mean that something so catastrophic has happened that Professor Fuyutski was forced to reveal the E2 project to you and possibly even Gendo..." Yui's face minimizes to the bottom-left hand corner of the screen. The diagram of a spaceship-like vehicle came up. "This is Mech-EVA Unit 01,  
also called Archangel. It is the fastest and most powerful of the Mech-EVAs. I want you to pilot it. Hopefully, by the time you hear this message, you are old enough to understand what has been going on. If an Angel attacks, you will be able to use the Mech-EVA's firepower to confront and destroy it. If things get too tough, you can always activate the humanoid conversion sequence."

A simulation of Mech-EVA Unit 01 going through its transformation sequence started up.

"The thrusters become the leg units for Archangel. The cockpit area is actually a solar-powered blaster, completely detachable. It should already be on full power but in case it isn't, turn the solar panel on top of it toward the sun.  
Archangel possesses other attributes such as flying abilities and a wrist-mounted laser-guided energy weapon. It's powerful,  
but it will only happen when your mind is in perfect synchronization with Archangel's circuitry."

Yui's face maximized the screen. "I realize that some of this may seem strange, even terrifying at first, but you must have strength and believe in yourself." Yui paused and looks off-screen, then looks back. "Shinji, I'm very proud of you for taking this step, and even your father is although he may not show it. Always remember Shinji that no matter what happens, I'll always be by your side, even in death. I love you."

The image stops. For a while, the room is quiet.

"You want to get something to eat? Might help you take your mind off of things."

"Sure."

As Maya and Shinji leave, they are unaware that Asuka's eyes were open the whole time.

As Maya and Shinji are walking down the hall, Maya with her arm on Shinji's back, leading him away, They are unaware of a shadow watching them.

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Up above, Misato is going through the rubble of her former office. "Come on, come on, where are you, you piece of"  
Misato throws off a slag of rubble. A cell phone lies there. "There you are, beautiful." Misato rips open the cell phone and takes a microchip out. She runs off down to the control center and inserted the chip into the computer. Profiles began appearing on the screen.

Name: Ayako Fukui.  
Military rank: Lieutenant, Japanese Defense Force.  
Race: Japanese. Age: 35.  
Sex: Female.  
Abilities: Hacking.  
Current location: Kyoto, Japan.

Misato brought up the next profile.

Name: Harvey Bennett.  
Military rank: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps.  
Race: American. Age: 28.  
Sex: Male.  
Abilities: Genetic research.  
Current location: Nevada, United States of America.

Name: Esteban Garcias.  
Military rank: Lt. (jg), New Scotland Yard.  
Race: Spanish. Age: 19.  
Sex: Male.  
Abilities: Program writing.  
Current location: New London, England.

Name: Paul Jargon.  
Military rank: None.  
Race: French.  
Age: 25.  
Sex: Male. Abilities: Hand-to-hand combat.  
Current location: New United Soviet Republic.

"Why is he in the NUSR when he's originally French?" Misato asked.

A computerized voice said, "In the year 2008, under new democratic government, France was invited to take residence in New United Soviet Republic after their old homeland went under water in the aftermath of the Second Impact.

Name: Li Kwon.  
Military rank: Ensign, Chinese Air Force.  
Race: Chinese.  
Age: 20. Sex: Female.  
Abilities: Aircraft piloting.  
Current location: ICS Yang, South China Sea.

"Looks like we found our crew," Misato said as Maya walks in drops her laptop down at a desk and leaves. Misato watches this.

Poor Maya, Misato thought. She, Hyuga and Aoba made a pretty good team back when we were fighting the Angels. It was like those three could read each other's minds. Now, Hyuga and Aoba are gone. I guess some people didn't survive this weird reincarnation. Let's hope these new people can do the job just as effectively if not more so.

Ritsuko ran in. "Asuka's gone!" She cried.

Misato whips her head towards Ritsuko. "What?"

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Gendo is staring out the window of Asuka's hospital room. The window leads out into the bay where the Mech-EVAs are.  
Misato arrives.

"Commander, what happened?"

"I just got here myself, Major, I don't know any more than you do."

Ritsuko, Fuyutski, Maya, and Shinji run in.

"What happened to Asuka?" Maya asked.

"That's what I want to know," Misato replied.

"Just as well," Gendo said dismissively. "She would be of no use to us anyway."

"Commander, Asuka is a human being, not a weapon like the MechEVAs!" Misato snapped. "She just can't be shrugged off like that."

"In case you have forgotten, Major, Asuka tried to kill Shinji. Would you rather have her here where she can accomplish her act of revenge?"

"But you're treating her like she's less than human!"

"Anyone who tries to kill another human is less than human."

"No." Everyone turns to look at Shinji. Shinji has his head facing the ground. "Asuka is not less than human"  
Shinji looks up. "You are less than human. You think everybody is something you can use and throw away when you find no need or use for them anymore. Even when we were fighting the Angels, you didn't care about anybody. Not the citizens of Tokyo 3, not Misato, not Asuka, not me, not even Rei. You were and still are a heartless bastaard!"

Gendo look at him with a look none of them have ever seen before. Before, it was just a "you stay on your side, I'll stay on mine" look. But now, it was a look of pure disgust. There was even malice in his eyes. Gendo turned away and continued staring at the window.

Shinji gave him a look of defiance, which the others (except Gendo) saw and almost took a step back. "Well I'm going to look for her. And if you're not going to help, then to hell with you!"

Shinji runs out of the hospital room.

"Shinji, wait! Maya, we have to catch him!" Misato and Maya run after him. Ritsuko and Fuyutski turn to Gendo.

"You're not going to try to stop him, aren't you?" Ritsuko asked.

"He'll be back," Gendo assured them.

"And if he doesn't?" Fuyutski asked back.

"He'll be back." Gendo said again.

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Shinji running through the halls. He makes it to the hallway that leads from the entrance of The Pocket to the elevator shaft. He looks around and sees a ladder. He begins climbing up it.

Hang on, Asuka. I'm on my way. Shinji thought

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Two SEELE soldiers escorted Asuka into Vice-Chairman Mendoza's office. Asuka is wearing her plug suit.

"Thank you, gentlemen. That will be all." The soldiers leave. "Miss Sohryu, welcome to SEELE."

"What am I doing here?" Asuka asked nervously.

"It was fortunate that we were able to rescue you from your fate."

"Rescue? Fate?"

"I'm surprised you didn't see it before. NERV was planning on throwing you out into the street."

"What? Why?"

Mendoza shrugs. "Asuka... Do you mind if I call you Asuka?... NERV is afraid of a pilot such as you. Because you aren't afraid to disobey orders. You're willing to do what's right even though Commander Ikari may not want you to."

"But... Shinji... Misato..."

"Rest assured, they will soon see the truth." In the mean time, let me tell you why you're really here. Unlike Nerv,  
SEELE needs a pilot like you to help test out our latest... creation." Mendoza slides a file across his desk.

"What creation?"

"You'll find the operating system is one that you're used to."

Asuka opened the file and her eyes widened.

"How...?"

"SEELE and NERV were once partners, Asuka in the HIP. Whatever files they had at the time, we also had, including the operating systems. Mendoza got up and came around from his desk. "Asuka, SEELE are not the villains. We are simply a group trying to express our feelings and beliefs. Unfortunately, not everybody wants to hear what we have to say."

Asuka knew what he was talking about. "NERV."

"Right. You're just as smart as your profile says you are." Mendoza placed both hands on Asuka's shoulders and started rubbing them.

"Asuka, I want to help you. SEELE wants to help you. But we can't help you unless you want to be helped. You know what you need, Asuka? You need a friend. Let me. Let me be your friend."

Asuka's head was swimming. It was making it hard to think and Mendoza's massage wasn't helping. Her body felt limp. "Friend?"

"Yes, a friend. I'm your friend, Asuka."

Asuka closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Mendoza keeps rubbing her shoulders for a little bit.

Asuka tried to assess what was happening, but all she could do was either accept or deny Mendoza's offer. She accepted it,  
she accepted him. "Yes. Yes, I do. All right, I'll do it."

Mendoza strokes Asuka's hair. "Thank you, Asuka. Trust me, this will be one of the best decisions you'll ever make." He embraced her from behind knowing that he had her.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Misato and Maya, gasping, pull themselves out of the elevator shaft.

"Maybe we should put an elevator in or something," Maya said huffing and puffing.

"Oh, quit complaining. When was the last time you exercised?"

"A few hours ago when we were running from SEELE soldiers."

"Oh. Well worry about your health later. Right now, we have to find Shinji."

"Look, there he is." Maya pointed to the far cavern wall. Shinji is trying to climb up a pile of rocks.

"Shinji!" Misato and Maya run up and each take hold of one of Shinji's arms.

"Let me go! I have to find Asuka!" Shinji said squirming.

"Shinji, we want to find her as much as you do," Maya pointed out. "But we wouldn't know where to look."

Shinji calmed down. "Then how do we find her?"

Maya and Misato were quiet, unable to answer Shinji's question.

"Shinji, I..."

Suddenly, the rubble in front of them starts to move. A giant bursts into the former Geo Front. Except for the color,  
which was a dull gray, it was a remarkable resemblance to Evangelion Unit 2.

The Cyber Eva makes a fist and thrusts it at Shinji, Misato, and Maya.

"Oh shit!" Misato cried

To Be Continued


End file.
